A Tribute to Patches

You came to us as a sweet little kitten. We all thought you were cute, but Annika claimed you as more than the family pet. You were her very own precious kitty! You put up with a lot and were brought into the house 'undercover' many times. Soon you got the hang of sneaking in yourself.

As you grew, you soon got big enough to have your own kittens. And have them you did! The last litter of 8 almost scared me. I mean, whoever heard of 8 kittens in a litter. You seemed to be overwhelmed with them. We don't know what happened, but 4 of them never pulled through. Each time, it caused a lot of tears from your owner, Annika and her little sister, Brooke. They loved those kittens almost as much as they loved you. The remaining 4 kittens grew and soon they were bouncing around on the sidewalks, eating big cat's food. They were all a mixture of your beautiful colors- orange, gray, black and white.

And then it happened. The neighbor found a dead cat lying by his mailbox. He called the man of the house, Annika's Dad, and informed him of the tragedy. A sadness filled the Dad's heart, and although he did not love cats, he did love you, because of the immense love his little girls had for you. You see, now there were 2 little girls in love with you. The dad was very busy planting corn. He took the time to pick up your dead body and bring you home. Then he gathered his 2 little girls in his lap and told them the very sad news. They cried on their Daddy's shoulder. Then this very busy Dad, who didn't hardly have time to eat lunch, dug a grave for you, our dear pet Patches. And we all buried you. Even the Mama felt very sad.

Jamison made a cross for your grave, the Mama painted your name on it, and Annika planted some flowers by your grave. You are just a memory, but it's a good memory. For a cat, you were a pretty special one. We all miss you.